Tomb Raider - Adventures Across the Multiverse
by Ceamonks890
Summary: Lara Croft is back in her biggest adventure yet, ending up in a quest that could decide the fate of the multiverse as we know it. But she won't be fighting this one alone, as she will find out soon enough...
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

22nd July 2005

It was a peaceful early afternoon in the Amazon jungle as native birds could be heard chirping away in the background. To many tourists, the risk of getting bitten by disease-carrying mosquitoes this deep into the wilderness would easily scare anyone off. But to Lara Croft, it was business as usual.

Moving plants out of the way, she relished in exploring such a secluded area for the sake of collecting another priceless artifact for her collection, like a debt collector hunting down overdue payments from clients.

Trekking a considerable distance further, she found herself greeted by a wondrous sight and decided to pull out a tape recorder from her backpack for research notes, a habit she'd decided to take on recently for the sake of better preserving the memories she had of her adventures.

'Ah. At last, the Temple of Janos! According to research papers Kurtis managed to uncover and send to me from the Lux Veritatis archives, this temple supposedly housed an incredible power. What said power did was never made clear however and to most, was dismissed as a mere myth. Those that did make it back and lived to tell the tale though, were dismissed as crazy and deluded, mentioning details such as 'demons' and 'mirrors'. I don't know what to make of this artifact yet, but I intend to find out soon enough.'

Pressing the stop button on her recorder, Lara put the device back in her backpack and set to work on entering the temple, performing a swan dive into the deep pool below.

After swimming an impressive amount that would make a professional Olympic swimmer blush, Lara climbed ashore and sat down on a rock, pulling out a bottle as she drank the satisfyingly refreshing cool water contained within, before resuming her quest anew.

Reaching the entrance to the temple, Lara was dismayed to discover the front door closed and seemingly no alternate route inside, which usually came about thanks to the benefits of gradual environmental decay. But for someone who had been through and experienced so much in her long career as a tomb raider, Lara wasn't someone quick to back down and pulled out a set of binoculars, examining the structure of the temple door more closely for any loose or secret buttons inside. Nothing!

'Dammit!' Lara said to herself. 'Usually there's at least some clue left behind, to indicate some way for the original rulers to get inside. But I guess those crafty buggers really didn't want any ol' robber to get in and claim whatever lies on the other side. Wonder if Kurtis's notes can give me any hints?'

She did just that and pulled out the research paper printouts with a renewed sense of vigour, examining the scribbled carvings and translated texts over and over, growing increasingly frustrated until coming upon the very clue she was hoping to find.

'Ah. Here we go. This carving here seems to represent a side-entrance at the top. I wonder if that's how the previous explorers managed to get in?'

Glancing up at the temple door foundations and at the notes, Lara formed a sly grin across her face.

'So that's how you lot managed to get into the temple! You pressed upon the three symbols surrounding the door's foundations and in doing so, opened up the giant hole above the door frame. A little unorthodox for tomb entrances, but then again, nothing in my line of work has ever been easy.'

With all this in mind, Lara set to work on getting inside.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Bypassing the incredibly cryptic puzzle, Lara found herself crawling out of the tight squeeze she had entered from and landed in pitch blackness on something soft.

Pulling out a flare which ignited the room in blissful red light, Lara discovered it to be only a series of vines that had evidently grown underneath the temple's foundations over the following centuries and relaxed herself a little.

Aside from the evident vine problem, the room seemed remarkably intact and as a nice change of pace, something shiny reflected the flare's light back at Lara.

Cautiously moving forward in case any active traps still remained, Lara succeeded in reaching the strange artifact(looking like a square mirror with handles across the sides of its frame), as it was left meticulously placed and unseen for many years on a wall.

Lighting a few unlit torches with the sparks from another flare she had pulled out, faded inscriptions were revealed to Lara.

'Hmm, it seems to be in Spanish. Mentions visiting other realms drastically different from our own... To take great care when using this device... Hmm. It doesn't seem to explain how it worked.'

Stopping to ponder for a moment with a hand on her chin, Lara decided to risk taking the artifact. If anything serious happened, she would deal with it. She'd faced Atlantis, an ancient Chinese dragon, demons, mutants, sorcerers and countless other beings of vast power over the years, that hardly anything seemed to visibly phase her anymore.

Carefully taking the mirror off its support and intending to put it in secure packaging material for the journey home to London, Lara unexpectedly had a bright light blasted at her face as she felt herself fading away into nothingness, leaving an entirely empty lit temple in her wake.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

22nd November 2018

'Jonah? Jonah, are you there?' Lara shouted to her long-time friend.

'Yeah Lara, I'm here,' Jonah said in response over radio. 'So what exactly are we looking for again?

Lara sighed and said, 'The Mirror of Perception. According to old research notes my dad had, it's said to be able to send the user to any realm they desire. If Trinity had gained access to this, it would have spelt doom for the world we know.'

'Right. Like every other adventure we've been on together?' Jonah said sarcastically.

Lara let out a chuckle, before confirming to Jonah that she was heading inside the temple, climbing down a steep cliff with her climbing axes into the dark depths below.

Narrowly avoiding death via drowning and active spike traps, Lara arrived at what was clearly the center of the entire temple's structure. The mirror was so close and yet felt so far, with a gaping black hole being seemingly the only thing keeping it from Lara.

Looking around, she spotted an alternate route and performed a series of acrobatics over precarious structures, reaching her destination in no time flat.

She was nearing a corner when suddenly the temple roof started to shake, as it began to collapse around her, sealing the way forward.

Frustrated, she decided to break down a breakable side wall. And to her immense relief, it led to another room. Not wanting to waste any more time, Lara moved into a jog down the dusty corridors.

Peering out a corridor entrance, she was shocked to find a special ops team of sorts coming in from an alternate route via sliding down ropes from hovering helicopters suspending themselves above holes in the roof.

'That explains the sudden cave-in earlier,' Lara thought to herself. 'Why can't I ever catch a break and just get an artifact without some power-hungry mercenaries wanting the same thing.'

Pulling out a pistol, Lara moved forward quickly, ensuring to take cover in order to avoid being spotted by enemy forces, silently dispatching a couple of foes in the meantime. However, her luck didn't last forever as a soldier spotted her and proceeded to fire, drawing attention from the rest of the mercs, including their leader.

'Lara Croft! I was hoping I'd get to meet you under better circumstances, but alas, my employer dislikes competition. So I'm afraid you'll have to miss out on this valuable find,' the evident merc leader shouted.

'Who are you?' Lara shouted back from behind cover, as echoed voices could be heard around the vast area.

'My name is Eliza Muti Ms. Croft. I doubt you've ever heard of me though, as I tend to keep to myself. And in this line of business, anonymity is essential. But I'm afraid I have no more time to talk. So my men and I will be taking this mirror and be on our way.'

'You're...not...going...anywhere!' Lara said with a serious voice, pulling out from behind cover in brief periods, firing a few shots at the nearest targets, before ducking back to reload with a new clip.

Strangely, the mirror glowed incredibly brightly and it temporarily blinded everyone, including the mercenary who was carrying it. What happened next, surprised everyone.

On the ground was a woman who looked to be in her late 30s, wearing a blue tank top shirt, brown shorts and boots, with a braid hanging from her head and holsters containing two old-fashioned dual pistols as she seemingly lay there, unconscious.

Perplexed briefly by this sudden occurrence, Eliza and his mercenaries continued to flee as the temple structure started to resume collapsing. Lara, angry that the mercenaries were getting away with the artifact, put her focus on seeing through to the safety of this mysterious woman as she lifted her unconscious body up and dragged her as quickly as she could, out of the temple.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

 **From here on out, I will be referring to the older Lara Croft as Core Lara. And the younger Lara Croft as Survivor Lara, in order to avoid confusion surrounding which one is talking at any one time. With that out of the way, let's begin the next chapter!**

Core Lara groaned, as she struggled to open her eyes. She hadn't felt this groggy since being trapped in the Great Pyramid over the course of the new millennium, after sealing away a reincarnated god of chaos from ruling the world once more.

Finding the strength to awaken proper and get up off what was revealed to be a bed, she found herself immediately stopped by a strong-looking man, who seemed to originate from somewhere Polynesian in origin. Perhaps New Zealand, she thought to herself.

'Woah, woah, woah, woah... easy there, easy. You've been out for three days. Do you want something to eat or drink?' the man said to her.

Groaning a bit, Core Lara said, 'Yes. A coffee and some eggs on toast would be lovely, thank you.'

The man gave a silent nod and walked towards the kitchen in the next room. Before she could find the time to stop and think about her current situation however, she was interrupted by a young female voice that had just come into the hotel room. This girl looked to be in her early 20s, wearing a closed-off brown shirt, pants and boots, with a single weapon holster hanging from her lower waist and a small ponytail hanging on the back of her head. Something about her, reminded Core Lara of herself. But she couldn't quite place why.

'So, you're finally awake,' the young girl said to Core Lara. 'Care to explain who you are and how you came to be in the Temple of Jeint?'

'I... don't know,' Core Lara said. 'Last thing I remember, I was in the Amazon jungle at the Temple of Janos, collecting a strange mirror artifact through a reliable lead. Just as I was about to package it, a bright light blasted my face from the mirror and than... nothing.'

'OK,' the young girl said in a calm tone. 'Do you have a name?'

Core Lara gave an incredibly confused look, before stating to this strange girl, 'You are kidding, right? Everyone in the world knows who I am. It's Lara... Lara Croft.'

Shattered dishes could be heard in the kitchen, as the man seemed to react in shock to this revelation.

'But that's impossible,' the man said. 'Lara Croft is... well, you're looking at her.'

Survivor Lara gave a much more severe look towards this lady of presumed mistaken identity, while Core Lara was starting to quickly lose her patience.

'Look, I don't know what this is about,' Core Lara said. 'But I have no time for practical jokes, least of all in my line of work. If I could just phone up Kurtis Trent back in Paris, I'm sure this could all be sorted out.'

'Who's Kurtis Trent?' the Polynesian man said to her.

'Not important right now.' Survivor Lara said to the man. 'Look, I hate to break it to you lady. But there's only one Lara Croft and you're staring at her.' She grabbed a clipped newspaper article from the nearby drawers and threw it at Core Lara's face. 'See, I'm the genuine article.'

Core Lara didn't even pay attention to her younger imposter, as her face was left entirely in shock from reading the paper.

'Lady Lara Croft...born in 1992...Mother died in a plane crash in the mountains, disgraced archaeologist father shot himself...Lara Croft survived a few weeks in Japan on the island of Yamatai at 21 years old... No, this is all wrong!' Core Lara said. 'But how can this be? I'm definitely not dreaming all this right now, so that means... of course!' she finished excitedly.

'What?' Survivor Lara and the man said in response.

'The Mirror... It must have transported me to an alternate realm, like the inscriptions in the temple said. But that doesn't explain the warnings of 'demons'. Core Lara questioned more to herself, than the two other people in the room with her.

'I'm sorry. I can't follow any of this right now.' the man said.

'You're not the only one Jonah.' Survivor Lara said in response to her best friend's confusion.

'My backpack? Where is it?' Core Lara said desperately. 'Have to make sure the mirror is safe.'

'It's over there on the table.' Jonah said. 'But I don't see how a mirror is going to...' Jonah didn't get to finish his sentence, before Core Lara said in utter horror, 'Oh no. It's gone. And it's obvious none of you two took it, as you'd have probably killed me afterward.' Core Lara pressed a foot against the nearby wall and stood there, pondering away about her dilemma.

'I assume you don't mean the Mirror of Perception, umm... Lara,' Survivor Lara said. 'Because a mercenary named Eliza Muti has it and is planning on giving it to his employer at an undetermined date, here in South America.'

'Well then, what are we waiting for?' Core Lara said. 'That artifact is my only way home to the realm I come from. Without it, I'm essentially stuck here. And I don't think your world would react too well to the news of two different archaeologists named Lara Croft running around.'

Survivor Lara tried her best to calm her older counterpart down. 'Look, I understand the importance of getting this artifact back. But we simply have no idea of where to start and... Wait! Where are you going?'

'Are mercenaries still an easily bought-out and cowardly lot around here?' Core Lara said.

'Yes, but I don't see how that's important...' Survivor Lara managed to get out, before being interrupted.

'Good enough for me.' Core Lara said, as she opened the hotel room door and went out into the pitch-black darkness of the cool jungle night.

Jonah and Survivor Lara stopped to stare at each other for a moment, before Jonah broke the silence and said, 'You know you've got to catch up with her right?'

'Yes, I know,' Survivor Lara said, in a defeatist voice. 'If you hear anything around town about Eliza, make sure to contact me through radio.'

'Will do.' Jonah said, as Survivor Lara made for the door left opened, by her alternate reality counterpart. 'And Lara.'

'Hmm?' Survivor Lara said.

'Be careful.' said Jonah.

'Don't worry Jonah. I always am.' stated Survivor Lara as she closed the hotel door on the way out.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Core Lara continued to run through the jungle, determined to find Eliza Muti and give him a piece of her mind, for having the cheek to steal a priceless artifact off her. But first, she needed to track down one of his armed lackeys and interrogate them for information.

She saw some bright lights shining through the trees of the blissful summer night jungle.

'Perfect,' she thought to herself. 'A good thing mercs are just about as predictable here with their hideout locations, as they are back home.'

Sneaking under the cover of bush, Core Lara paused as she spotted a security post for entry into the base a considerable distance away. She pulled out binoculars from her backpack and examined the setup of their headquarters. Security cameras surrounding the fences, patrols following routes around the various buildings that made up the structure of the area, searchlight towers...

'Bugger,' Core Lara said quietly to herself, before resuming getting lost in thought. 'They've got the whole place covered. No obvious entry into the base, unless I want to get myself shot. Perhaps there's a scheduled military supplies truck I could hide in during downtime or I could 'convince' a guard to nicely let me in. Or maybe...'

Core Lara's planning thoughts were brought to an abrupt end, when she heard the sound of a twig snapping and raised one of her pistols from the holsters, turning around as she aimed at the unknown person who foolishly attempted to sneak up on her. Fortunately, it was only her younger counterpart from earlier.

'Woah, put that weapon away,' Survivor Lara said, her own gun drawn. 'I'm on your side'.

'In my business, its kill or be killed child,' Core Lara said, as she put her pistol back in its holster, irritated. 'What are you doing here?'

'I came to help you. I know what you're likely planning to do and its suicide. Look older me, I may not have been on as many adventures as you have or know the kind of world you come from. But around these parts, that kind of swashbuckling will get you killed.' said Survivor Lara.

'That so?' Core Lara said, in a patronising tone. 'Then what would you suggest?'

'What I suggest is that we go back to the hotel and try to sort out a solid, effective game plan, before we start barging into strongholds and taking names, as if we're in a stereotypical action movie.' Survivor Lara stated.

Core Lara was tempted to respond with another witty comeback, but she knew deep down that her counterpart was right. This world evidently played by different rules, with tech which was noticeably more advanced, than anything she'd come across back home.

'Alright, fine. You win.' said Core Lara in defeat, as she raised up from the crouching position she'd been in earlier. 'But if we're gonna do this, we are going to have to examine all possible angles, including any potential underground entrances which could take these monkeys by surprise.'

Survivor Lara sighed herself in relief, having successfully managed to get through to her older counterpart.

'Agreed,' she said. 'So Lara, partners?'

'Partners.' Core Lara said, as they both reached out a hand and shook it.

'So you hungry?' Survivor Lara said. 'Because you kind of left, before Jonah could give you any food.'

Core Lara's stomach growled, with her only now realizing she hadn't eaten anything, since arriving in the Amazon jungle back home at a hotel. It seemed like a lifetime ago now. She chuckled a little in embarrassment, as Survivor Lara pulled out a few sandwiches from her own backpack and gave them to Core Lara, as they set off back to Jonah.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

'So, wait? You fought an actual dragon!' Survivor Lara said, as she and Core Lara were taking a long trek back to the hotel they were staying at, discussing the adventures they'd had over the course of their respective careers.

'Yep. And he was quite the tough, gluttonous beast to put down too.' Core Lara said in response. 'I barely survived, with a few minor burns on my back for around two months. But at least I had the dagger to take home and hang in my artifact room, as a keepsake. Unfortunately, Bartoli's men didn't take the death of their leader very well and came storming into the manor.'

'What did you do?' Survivor Lara said in anticipation.

'Well, let's just say they were met with a cold and bitter end.' Core Lara said, with a bit of glee in her tone of voice.

'Wow. Your accomplishments make mine seem like small walks in the park.' Survivor Lara said.

Core Lara smiled and said to her younger counterpart, in a manner akin almost to an older sister, 'Hey, you're young and still got your whole life ahead of you. Just give it time. I'm sure fate will provide an opportunity for you to leave your own mark on the world, far away from the influence of your parents. Trust me.'

'Thanks. I'll try and remember that.' Survivor Lara said.

'And to be fair, this Himiko goddess you brought up before, would certainly give Set or Natla a run for their money. So don't put yourself down and live in the moment Lara.' Core Lara said. 'Opportunities like this don't happen often, so let loose and have a little fun, whilst trying to save the world OK?'

'Hmm...' Survivor Lara said, with a grin on her face as she crouched down to re-tie the laces around her boots, while Core Lara waited a small distance away, for her to finish. Before she was completely done however, Survivor Lara received a message from Jonah over her radio.

As Core Lara came rushing back to her, the Laras listened for an opportunity to respond back to Jonah.

'Lara, Lara... Are you there? Did you find your older self yet?' Jonah said.

'Jonah, it's me,' Survivor Lara said. 'And yeah, she's right here with me.'

'Good,' Jonah said. 'Because I think Eliza and his crew have found out where we were staying and I see a few soldiers coming in from the lower town streets. I just got out of the hotel, but I don't think I escaped completely unnoticed.'

'Alright, where do you want us to meet?' Survivor Lara said back to her friend.

'Let's meet in the small village not too far from town. I'll catch up later, as I think I need to maintain a low profile till then.' said Jonah.

'Understood,' Core Lara said. 'We'll meet you there.'

'Roger that, Jonah out.' Jonah confidently responded, as the radio signal went dead.

'Well, no time like the present.' Core Lara expressed to her younger counterpart, as they both started to go into a sprint towards town.

35 minutes later...

The two Laras arrived back in town, only to be greeted by a horrific sight as citizens were having their homes raided by Eliza's men, in the hopes of finding them.

Core Lara pulled out her dual pistols and said to Survivor Lara quietly, 'Follow my lead', as Survivor Lara pulled out her own pistol and attached a silencer to it as they snuck into town.

As soldiers were crowding the townspeople around the local fountain and tying them up so they couldn't escape, one was commanding them in a very authoritative voice to tell them where Lara Croft was, as they knew she was here and they'd tear this city down if they had to.

Hiding amongst the shadows of a back alley, the two Laras were putting their plan into action, with Survivor Lara taking cover around some nearby market columns to the left and drawing the soldiers' attention, whilst Core Lara would try and get the civilians to safety during the confusion, as she ran off to the right for a detour.

'Hey, you bastards!' Survivor Lara shouted out from behind cover. 'I'm here, so let these people go and take me if you can.'

'Croft? Come out where we can see you!' a mercenary shouted, assault rifles at the ready for the eight mercs there, as they were distracted and left blissfully unaware by the fact another Lara Croft was removing their leverage behind their backs.

'It's OK. I'm not with them,' Core Lara whispered to a frightened old woman within the tied-up crowd, as she pulled out a knife from a sheath on her left leg and began cutting the ropes surrounding the civilians. 'Just give me a bit to untie you all.'

The mercenaries began walking up to the street where Survivor Lara was hiding, as she was prepared to fight if she had to. One merc looked at a market stall and began firing at it, ripping the fruits intended for sale to shreds, expecting to find a newly dead body. But alas, it was not the intended result for him.

'Frank. What are you doing?' one mercenary said to the other. 'Are you deliberately trying to give away our position?

'Sorry Billy. I just thought it was the most likely place for the target to hide.' Frank said to his comrade-in-arms.

They continued moving forward, unaware that Survivor Lara had cautiously moved back to the dark alley from before during the confusion and joined up with her older alternate reality counterpart in the town square.

'How are we on freeing the hostages?' Survivor Lara said to Core Lara.

'Almost got it. Just a little bit more.' Core Lara said in response, as she was cutting the rope as reasonably quick as she could. 'Got it. There's the last one free.'

The older woman was carefully lifted up by a younger man and woman who rushed back into the fray to help, as the elder responded to the Laras, 'Thank you both,' in a strong accent, as they were escorted away.

'OK,' Core Lara whispered. 'Now here's the second part of our plan.'

The mercenaries were growing increasingly frustrated and headed back to the fountain where they'd tied up all the townspeople they could get their hands on, only to discover them gone and their target standing there at the fountain.

'Hey,' Survivor Lara said. 'Weren't you looking for me?'

Filled with rage at the loss of their leverage, the mercs shot at and immediately charged forward as Survivor Lara rushed down a corner out of sight for cover. To the mercenaries' surprise, they were greeted with two of their men being shot in the head by another woman, rocking some old-fashioned dual pistols.

'Hello boys,' Core Lara said. 'Is this a private party or can anybody join in?'

'Who is...?' another mercenary said, before he got shot in the shoulder and collapsed, writhing in pain as blood started pouring out.

Core Lara started kicking ass left and right, as the mercs tried in vain to shoot at this stranger, who seemingly came in out of nowhere. But she was simply too fast, for them to line an accurate shot on as she continued to weaken their ranks. Survivor Lara meanwhile, was trying her best to aim for a perfect shot in the legs of one merc, but Core Lara kept stealing all her 'kills'.

'Hey, that one was mine,' Survivor Lara shouted out.

'Gotta react quicker than that!' Core Lara quipped, as she kicked another mercenary in the face hard.

With only one mercenary left, he shouted, 'I yield! I yield! Just, please don't kill me!'

'Wouldn't dream of it,' Core Lara said, as she lifted up the frightened merc and slammed him hard against a wall, pistol placed insanely close to his head. 'Now, you're gonna tell us everything we want to know about your boss and ways to enter your base.'

'I can't!,' the terrified mercenary said. 'Eliza will kill me if I tell!'

'I'll do a lot worse to you than he ever will,' Core Lara confidently threatened. 'Tell us what we want to know now or you've just run out of time.'

'OK, ok!', the mercenary said, feeling like he was about to wet himself. 'There's an underground cave in the small village, which leads up to somewhere underneath the base. Eliza has been meaning to cover it up, but he beliefs himself invincible in the knowledge that very few know where it is. His benefactor is also some... kind of monster. It scares the crap out of me, whenever I'm lucky enough to see it.'

'Interesting.' Core Lara said, pistol still firmly placed to the merc's skull.

'So are you going to let me live?' the mercenary said, nervously.

Core Lara didn't even give him the pleasure and pistol whipped his head, knocking him out. 'Sweet dreams.' she said.

'Wow, I like your style!' Survivor Lara said.

'Thanks, but let's delve out compliments later. Right now, we need to meet with Jonah at the village, remember? Do you know where it is?'

'Yes, I do. Sorry! Follow me.' Survivor Lara said, as they picked up assault rifles and a pair of jeep keys from the mercs, hopping into the jeep as they headed off for their destination.


	7. Chapter 7

**Before we start this next chapter, I would appreciate a favour from all of the new viewers who've stumbled across my first ever fanfiction(You know who you are). And that's in offering me reviews for constructive feedback or even something simple, like praising how the story's currently being handled or a described detail you personally liked. It's a small thing, but it goes a long way in ensuring that I'm satisfying somebody with my writing, at the very least. Anyways, here we go...**

CHAPTER SEVEN

As Survivor Lara drove the jeep across the dirt-covered roads, Core Lara laid back in the passenger seat, dosing off for a little nap.

While she slept, Core Lara started experiencing a dream where she was seemingly alone in a dark room(the only source of light shining down from the heavens). Curiously walking towards it, different sized figures inexplicably spawned in and chatted away, unaware of their snooping observer.

'I warned you not to fail me human!' a booming, animalistic-sounding voice shouted to his unknown subordinate. 'You allowed not only one Lara Croft to escape, but two! Do you have any idea how serious this is?'

'No, please! Give me another chance sir! I didn't know the older woman was another version of Ms. Croft. I'll ensure they're both killed and not tarnish your plans further, I swear!' the whimpering stranger was pleading to his employer.

'You'd better. Or soon, you'll just be another forgotten speck in the vastness of the multiverse. Now go!' the monstrous voice commanded.

As the shadowy figures started to fade away, Core Lara could only hear the subordinate collapsing and running away in a panic, before she found herself staring at a set of cold, hate-filled orange eyes and bracing herself for the inevitable...

'Hey Lara! Wake up, we're here.' Survivor Lara said, as she nudged Core Lara awake. The latter groaned as she opened her eyes, noticing that during the time she slept, the sun seemed to be rising off in the direction of the village now, indicating early morning.

Getting out of the stolen jeep, the two Laras stepped forward into the village itself. It was surprisingly active for such a small area at this time of day, with local stalls opening up and kids coming outside, excited to go on make-believe journeys and explore around the outskirts of the village. Core Lara couldn't help but smile, as it was refreshing to see such a strong drive for adventure in ones so young and full of life.

Walking past a bar, a familiar voice could be heard from behind them as they were greeted. It was Jonah, a little dirty but seemingly no worse for wear.

'A relief to see you two still breathing. Either of you got a plan to take Eliza down?' he said.

'Yes,' Survivor Lara said. 'The older me here, managed to obtain a fair bit of info on their activities, including a way to sneak into their base without being detected.'

'That's great!,' Jonah expressed excitedly. 'Where's the entrance?'

'In an underground cave somewhere in the village,' Core Lara said nonchalantly. 'Where exactly, we're not sure.'

'Hmm...' Jonah said, puzzled as he stopped to think. 'Well, why don't we start by checking out the small temple up there?', pointing to the structure behind them, 'Considering the places me and Little Bird here, have uncovered the past few years, it's usually a good place to start.'

'Right. Let's get going then,' Core Lara said in a serious tone, as she started walking towards the steep path leading up to the temple.

Jonah and Survivor Lara followed a little further behind her, with Survivor Lara whispering to her friend, 'I told you to stop calling me that a few weeks ago Jonah. Especially around other people.'

'Sorry Lara. Force of habit I guess.' Jonah said, as he awkwardly tried to change the topic.

Unbeknownst to them, Core Lara was quietly smirking. She had no intention of settling down with anyone back home, but at the same time, found it charming that an alternate version of herself would be so close with anybody platonically, as to her, people usually served as tools to obtain information out of.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she focussed on the task at hand(which was to find a way into the underground cave, put a stop to Eliza Muti and get back the mirror artifact required for her to return home), before Winston would start to get worried about being left alone for so long at Croft Manor. There was still the matter of figuring out how to make the mirror itself work to her benefit, but she would get to that when it happened.

15 minutes later...

Jonah and the Laras finally managed to make it to the top and began examining the structure for any noticeable holes. Exhaustively searching from top to bottom, an accidental lean from Jonah on a loose brick, caused a portion of the wall to collapse in on itself and reveal the hidden entrance to Eliza Muti's base.

'Are you OK Jonah?' Survivor Lara shouted down to her friend. 'That sounded like a nasty fall!'

'Don't worry! I'm fine,' Jonah shouted from below. 'There's a pool down here, that softened the fall. You can jump!'

'After you.' Survivor Lara said to her older counterpart, raising her arms and pointing them at the hole in the wall.

'Funny,' Core Lara said. 'Looks like there's still hope for you yet.' She then put her arms to their sides as she performed a relaxed dive into the darkness below.

'Well, here goes nothing.' Survivor Lara said to herself, as she hopped down to join her colleagues-in-arms.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Survivor Lara felt herself falling a fair distance, the wind blowing in her face as she continued to fall until ending up in the water below, delivering a considerable splash from the impact.

She looked back up upon reaching the water's surface and could barely see the temple's hole from which she'd jumped a few moments prior, being merely visible as a small speck.

Thankfully during the time she'd took to join Jonah and her older counterpart, Core Lara had pulled out a flare from her backpack and illuminated the wet cave with bright red light, as the three continued to move their arms and legs about gently, in order to stay afloat and avoid wasting too much energy.

'Glad to see you two in one piece.' Jonah said in relief. 'So where do we go from here?'

'Well,' Core Lara said in observation. 'Based off past experience, there's usually air pockets located deep underneath. It's actually getting there that's the biggest hurdle I'm afraid, as there can be multiple passages which lead you down the wrong path and risk trapping victims, to the point of drowning. Can you two hold your breath for a while?'.

'Not a problem for me.' Survivor Lara expressed calmly. 'But as for Jonah, I'm not sure if he'll be able to hold his breath for too long. He's talented at a number of things, but holding his breath for more than a minute is not.'

'That is true,' Jonah admitted. 'But we've come too far to stop now and there's no way back up. So you two are going to have to go on ahead and ensure there's a path forward for me.'

'OK,' Core Lara said. 'Sounds like a plan. You wait here, until we get back. If we're successful in finding a solid way forward, we'll let you know through radio and come back for you.'

'Got it,' Jonah said. 'Don't take too long though. I can't keep floating around forever.'

And with that, the two Laras each took a deep breath and dived underneath the water.

Core Lara lit up another flare while Survivor Lara lit up a glowstick, as they swam through the dense, moss-covered caves. Thankfully, they were fortunate to not run into too many dead end corridors or any local inhabitants beyond a few harmless fish, with a few air pockets providing a temporary respite from the pressure this all put on their lungs. But in spite of all their determined efforts, they seemed no closer on finding a way out.

'This isn't good,' Survivor Lara said to Core Lara as they both surfaced for air again. 'Jonah is waiting for us back down the tunnel and there seems to be no obvious way forward. Maybe that merc lied to us, in the hopes we'd get lost and die down here.'

'Don't give up just yet Lara,' Core Lara said to her younger and more inexperienced counterpart. 'Where there's a will, there's a way. And I've come out of far worse situations than this. So let's both try and keep a level head here, shall we?'

'OK.' Survivor Lara said, as she stopped to take a deep breath and calm down. 'So what do you recommend we do? We've swam down many tunnels and there seem to be a lot of dead ends with no answers.'

'Wait!' Core Lara said. 'What about that tunnel on the second right? It's the only one we haven't tried yet and if what that merc told us is true, there's likely to be a hole which leads to the surface underneath Eliza's base.'

'Of course! Why didn't I see it before?' Survivor Lara said, completely dumbfounded.

'So what do you say young me,' Core Lara said, enthusiastically. 'Ready to take a leap of faith?'

And so they swam back down into the dark depths of the flooded tunnels, mentally crossing their fingers in the hopes that fate would reward them this day.

As they made a turn to the second right, they spotted some light shining down to the bottom at the end of the tunnel, presumably from a hole in the room above. Making a break for the surface, the two Laras were gasping for fresh air in their lungs and saw to their relief, a series of rough unnatural ledges formed to such an extent, that it would make for an easy foothold for their arms and legs to hold on to.

With that, Survivor Lara tried to contact Jonah on the radio, but received no answer on the other line. Fearing the worst, they swam back as fast as they could, in the hopes that it wasn't over for him.

Breaking the surface, they saw he had decided to lie back and have a bit of a snooze. His nose and mouth were still above the surface thankfully, so when Core Lara decided to shake him awake, Jonah found himself flaring about like a child who couldn't swim briefly, before realizing it was only his best friend and her older self from an alternate realm.

'Oh geez!' Jonah said, terrified. 'Took you long enough. Almost gave me a heart attack!'

'Terrified you? You didn't even respond on the radio like we planned and I feared the worst for you Jonah,' Survivor Lara said, noticeably irritated. 'Do you realize how many times you've cheated death already. What if this was the day it finally happened?'

'Anyway, we've found a way out,' Core Lara said in a much more serious tone, in order to get things back on track. 'There are plenty of air pockets along the way, so long as we conserve our oxygen and don't freak out. Hope you don't have a fear of enclosed spaces Jonah.'

'I don't, but I appreciate the honesty,' Jonah said to Core Lara. 'Lead the way.'

Backtracking down the tunnels(with Core Lara in front, Jonah behind her and Survivor Lara at the back), they eventually returned to the uncovered exit from earlier, breaking the surface and began to climb up the makeshift footholds.

Core Lara felt right at home as she confidently climbed up to the top, peeking her head up for any sign of Eliza or his mercenaries(in case of a sneak attack). Thankfully, it seemed the security team was either out to lunch, gone to bed or didn't consider this area too important as she pulled herself up. She then helped Jonah up(as he was at risk of losing his grip), before Survivor Lara climbed up and saw her two companions laying on the ground, exhausted. She took the chance to glance at her watch. It was around 2 in the afternoon, meaning they'd been down there for close to five hours.

'It seems quiet around here,' Jonah whispered. 'Too quiet if you ask me, considering how fortified you claimed the base was outside.'

'Whatever the case may be,' Core Lara said, 'We can't afford to let our guard down quite yet. So let's approach this all quietly.'

'Agreed'. Survivor Lara and Jonah said, as Core Lara drew one of her pistols from the holsters and started sneakily walking towards the nearest wall to the door, with Survivor Lara and Jonah following close behind(with Survivor Lara having a silenced pistol of her own drawn and Jonah a sub-machine gun from his back), which was obtained from the leftovers of the merc encounter the Laras had dealt with the previous day.

With Core Lara giving them a cautious hand gesture, she grabbed the door handle gently and proceeded to slowly open it, pistol raised high in her other hand as the three heroes prepared for what potentially lay on the other side of the door.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Core Lara peeked out through the small corner offered by the door and noticed to her dismay, moving security cameras and two security guards sitting in chairs, evidently watching some sports game on their phones. Aside from that, the corridor seemed to be mainly deserted with a few visible side doors that undoubtedly housed more guards likely occupied with work within their offices or drowsing off, lackadaisically.

Carefully closing the door, Core Lara explained to her allies quietly how grim the situation was. Survivor Lara suggested shooting out the camera with her own silenced pistol after knocking out the guards, but Jonah argued that it would likely draw too much attention. Core Lara agreed and suggested a different approach, noticing some unused uniforms in an opened storage cupboard.

It wasn't too difficult for the Laras to find a uniform in their respective size. But for Jonah, the biggest size barely fit him and was as such, a major struggle to fit onto his clothes. But after managing to put on their complete disguises, the trio stepped out into the corridor, mentally pleading to a god they didn't believe in, that fate would reward them this day.

'Hey, what's going on here?' one security guard said in a strong American accent, catching them walking past him. 'Where did you three come from and who is your superior?'

Survivor Lara tried to think of something fast, speaking in the most convincing Russian accent that she could muster 'Umm... we were on a lunch break and simply lost track of time. Sorry about that. We'll get back to work for Mr. Muti right away, sir!'

'Is that true for you two as well?' the American guard said to Core Lara and Jonah, who merely nodded in agreement.

'Alright then. I'll let ya all off with a warning. But if I catch either of you dodging work past your break periods again, your asses are fired! Got it?' the American guard said, with an authoritative tone.

The Laras and Jonah nodded silently once again and walked away as confident-looking as possible, letting out a huge sigh of relief once they were far enough away from the guards as they continued to explore deeper into the base.

'Who were they Bill?' the other security guard said in a British accent, having been evidently too distracted by the sports game he was watching, to pay much attention to what just happened.

'Oh, just some lazy workers hoping to get paid extra for doing nothing Jeff. Never mind that it's our job to remain ever vigilant in case some intruder somehow manages to get in here.' Bill said to his fellow co-worker.

'Yeah, right. As if anyone has the guts to challenge us,' Jeff said cockily, as he resumed getting immersed with what was displayed on his phone screen.

Jonah and the Laras continued to bypass security as best they could, with a few narrow misses by security lasers and cameras until something caught Core Lara's eye beyond a glass window into another room. It was the Mirror she had before! But it seemed to be under watchful guard by armed mercs outside as scientists were seemingly studying its properties.

'What is it?' Survivor Lara said quietly to her older counterpart.

'It's the Mirror of Perception.' Core Lara said in response. 'But we're gonna have to take care of those guys first, before we'll have a chance at getting to it.'

'Leave that to me.' Jonah said. 'I may not be as experienced in combat as you two are, but I've got a plan to draw these suckers out and away from the research area.'

'What?' Survivor Lara said to her friend.

'That's my little secret Lara. You'll see.' Jonah stated, as he gave a sly wink and proceeded to walk off in a different direction, leaving the two Laras alone to their own devices, waiting for the cue to sneak into the lab.

It took around 10 minutes, but suddenly an alarm went off further down the corridor as it drew the mercenaries' attention as they rushed to deal with the source of the disturbance, giving the Laras the opportunity they needed to sneak into the laboratory unbeknownst to the two poor scientists, who were knocked out with a strong chokehold.

Carefully turning off the scanners and lifting the protective glass around the Mirror of Perception, Core Lara lifted it up and took time to examine it. There appeared to be some sort of hidden triggers active around the top of the frame, since she last saw it. Feeling around the frame for clues on how to turn it on, she found a hard-to-spot button to the right side of the frame on the back of it, pressing on it hard with her finger.

In an instant, the Mirror sprang to life and generated an image of a manor, as a familiar-looking gentleman could be seen cleaning outside.

'Wait, is that Winston?' Survivor Lara said with a quizzical expression. 'How is he still alive?'

'Oh, you had a butler also called Winston at one point?' Core Lara enquired with curiosity.

'Yes,' Survivor Lara said. 'But he passed away when I was very young.'

'Interesting,' Core Lara expressed with great intrigue. 'My Winston is still alive, but this looks nothing like my manor. Perhaps we're looking into another world or maybe even the distant past of this world's timeline?'

'Hey, I know as much as you seem to,' Survivor Lara said. 'What do those triggers do?'

'Let's find out.' Core Lara said, as she pressed down on the left trigger, which seemed to scroll up while the right trigger seemed to scroll down, with the images changing rapidly as various worlds were displayed, including real-time displays of a world where there was a Lara who looked a lot like the actress Angelina Jolie fighting against some giant robot, a world where everything seemed to be drawn meticulously in MS Paint, a world where everything looked like a Saturday morning cartoon, a world where a version of Lara was standing with her pistols close to her chest alongside supernatural beings that looked like something out of a comic book and several unexplainable worlds where there was a Lara with a jetpack on her back exploring sci-fi inspired worlds, one in the Wild West, one in the depths of outer space, one using a time machine to explore different eras of time and one where she seemed to be working alongside a demon called Demon Smalls, from what the two Laras could make out through the audio inexplicably displayed from the image.

They were both so utterly fascinated by what was displayed, that they barely caught Jonah rushing into the room.

'Umm ladies,' he said in a serious tone. 'Might want to get out of here now, as the mercs are starting to come back this way.'

'Right, better get moving!' Survivor Lara said, as Core Lara turned the mirror's 'power' off and put it in secure packaging, storing it in her backpack as they both made a break for it with Jonah down the corridor, hiding behind a corner as the mercs came in.

'What happened in here?' one merc said.

'Better report this to Eliza,' the other merc said, as they pressed a button on their shoulder radio. 'Seems like we have an intruder on our hands Mr. Muti.'

'Well, find them and kill them,' the trio could hear from behind the corner. 'They basically signed their own death warrant. I don't want anything interfering with Slizer's ceremony in the next twenty minutes!'

'Yes sir!', the second merc said over his radio to his superior. 'You heard Eliza. Spread out and find the intruder!' he spouted to his comrade, as they run off in different directions.

'I wonder who this Slizer person is?' Jonah said. 'And what exactly does he want with the Mirror of Perception?'

'I don't know Jonah,' Survivor Lara said. 'But whatever it is, this is more than just a simple 'take over the world' scheme. They want to have control over thousands of worlds and they'll stop at nothing to achieve that goal.'

'Are so-called villains around here always this cliched in their schemes?' Core Lara quipped, peering behind the corner in order to ensure the coast was clear.

'Pretty much.' Jonah and Survivor Lara both said.

'Let's get moving.' Core Lara said. 'Won't be much longer before they start that ceremony'.

Jonah and Survivor Lara audibly agreed as they all rushed down the corridor together to find the room, where this ceremony was taking place.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

The trio continued to move as inconspicuously quick as they could, desperately trying to figure out where this Slizer was holding the ceremony within the base. Fortunately after what felt like ten minutes, they overheard some random security patrols discussing what the whole fuss was about and proceeded to follow close behind. To the mercs, it seemed so sudden and out-of-the-blue for their mysterious benefactor to be so willing to come out of the shadows.

One merc even commented that those who do manage to sneak a peek at Slizer, tended to never be heard from again. And for the few that do make it and live to tell the tale, were left in a perpetual state of constant paranoia, requiring weeks of therapy sessions to recover. This evidently made the Laras and Jonah all the more concerned, about the mess they'd found themselves wrapped into as they continued to follow the mercs into another room.

What happened next, took them completely off guard. In the center of the room was a massive portal which seemed incredibly intricate in its design. Mercenaries surrounded the general area on both the ground floor and upper levels, as they chatted away amongst themselves about what they were all called in for.

It didn't take much longer for their curiosity to be sated however, as Eliza Muti opened a side-door and entered the crowded room, standing in front of the portal. The trio noticed that he seemed to be sweating all over. If what they had heard about Slizer was true, this showed how much of an authority he had on not only Eliza but of his vast team of mercenaries as well.

'I don't like this,' Core Lara said. 'All these mercenaries in one place, just seems too convenient.'

'What's your gut telling you Lara?' Jonah whispered.

'It's telling me that we should get out of here while we still can.' Core Lara said in response.

But before they could have a chance on opening the doors, sounds of locking mechanisms could be heard, suddenly sealing them all inside and trapped amongst an army of mercs. What happened next didn't do their predicament any favours.

The room inexplicably went dark briefly, as flashes of dark-red lightning started to generate in the middle giving Eliza quite the start as he collapsed on the ground in fear. What later spawned in as the bulbs generated lighting once again, revealed a seemingly normal-looking businessman in a black suit, with brown eyes and blond hair. Everybody stared in confusion at what had just transpired.

'Is this some kind of late April Fool's joke?' a random merc said. 'I expected someone actually intimidating! Not some weak-looking wuss. Boss, you really didn't call us all out for this, did you?'. Eliza could only stand up and try his best to maintain his composure, as he read out a piece of paper.

'Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our generous benefactor in the flesh, Mr Slizer Bowman. He... has seen fit to thank you for your great services and appreciates the... noble sacrifices you are about to make... Oh god.'

'Eliza, keep reading.' Slizer said to his terrified-sounding employee in a confident yet unnerving voice.

'...Do not fear what now awaits you. For you will merely be reborn somewhere else in the vast multiverse.' Eliza finished.

'That's better,' Slizer said. 'Now that we've got the introductions out of the way, its time I got this out and started the ceremony'.

Mercenaries watched in horror as the being they previously dismissed as a weak pencil pusher, started to change before their eyes into an orange-skinned demonic creature with similar-coloured eyes, continuing to grasp his own Mirror of Perception all the while in his now clawed-looking hands.

'Another Mirror of Perception?!' Survivor Lara said. 'But how can that be? We've got it right here!'

'It's because that's the one from my realm,' Core Lara said. 'Slizer must have snatched it from my person during my transportation to this world. There's just no other logical explanation for how he obtained another one.'

'Think we'd best find some cover,' Jonah said. 'Who knows what other kinds of power that Mirror bestows on those with the technical know-how.'

As the Laras and Jonah found cover behind a stack of metal crates, Slizer could be heard muttering demonic chantings as the Mirror of Perception started to glow in blue energies.

Some mercenaries tried to make a break for it, attempting to force the doors back open whereas others tried firing at this monster who had so easily played them for fools. Alas, Slizer seemed to have generated a powerful energy field around himself during the confusion and sparks of blue lightning zapped all of the exposed mercenaries and seemingly drained their very lifeforce from them into the Mirror of Perception, as they quickly decayed into dust.

The few mercs still left standing(including Eliza), did not escape an equally as cruel fate, with the trio hearing gruesome slaughter from behind. They didn't dare expose themselves, for risk of meeting their enemies' fate.

Slizer laughed in a demonic-sounding voice as he expressed to a dying Eliza, 'Thank you for your support, gullible mortal. You humans are so easily bought, it's little wonder you're barely taken seriously and seen as the joke of whatever universe you're a part of. Rest assured, your sacrifice will empower this device to transport me to wherever I desire, for the next 100 years. Farewell!'

Slizer then walked to the massive portal, activated an unseen setting on the Mirror and mumbled to himself, 'Ah, Earth 2. A world where Lara Croft is grieving over the conclusive loss of her mother and how pointless her entire life was in the grand scheme of things. It will prove an easy universe to conquer first.'

The Laras and Jonah poked their heads out from their hiding place, as they heard Slizer laughing to himself as he seemingly faded away into the massive portal device. They tore their disguises off and made a leg for the still active portal, but not before Eliza called out to them.

'Wait!,' Eliza called out, coughing up blood as he tried to speak whilst covering his open chest wound. 'You aren't going to get that double-crossing snake without knowing where he went...,' He coughed up even more blood, as Survivor Lara bent down and tried to support Eliza, while Core Lara and Jonah looked on in slightly visible distress. 'You have the other Mirror, don't you? Turn it on and scroll down three times... That's where Slizer is going to next and likely fool more easily-bought idiots like us into following his dogma... Kill him when you next see that bastard, would ya?' Eliza let out a weak laugh, before he finally died from his wounds.

Survivor Lara closed her eyes briefly and frowned, as she gently placed Eliza's head back on the ground. She then turned to look at her older counterpart and Core Lara knew exactly what to do, as she pulled their own Mirror of Perception out of her backpack.

'I'm not sure if it'll be able to transport all three of us easily. So you're gonna have to hold on to me.' she said.

Survivor Lara and Jonah each placed a hand on one of Core Lara's respective shoulders and braced themselves as Core Lara activated the Mirror of Perception, according to Eliza's instructions.

Suddenly, they found themselves all blinded by bright light and knew no more as they faded away into the unknown.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Groaning in exhaustion, Survivor Lara gradually opened her eyes and found herself on the ground outside a maze close to a sundial. It seemed to be night time, with a full moon shining in the sky.

Looking around, she saw Core Lara and Jonah on the ground next to where she had been unconscious, thanks to the dimensional trip from her world to this one. She crouched down and gently prodded her allies awake.

Taking time to look around at their new surroundings, the trio could only guess that this was the Earth 2 they had overhead Slizer mention, before he had left Survivor Lara and Jonah's home realm mere moments earlier as they followed in pursuit.

Core Lara commented on how extravagant this area seemed to be, guessing that only someone as rich and with similar tastes as her, would build a setup like this.

'Then this must be the home of our counterpart from Earth 2', Survivor Lara theorised in excitement.

'Woah, hang on there. Remember how much I freaked out when we first met?,' Core Lara said. 'Imagine that times 100, especially for a version of us who is still grieving over the loss of a loved one. Best we sneak around and find out how things work around here first.'

'Sounds like a solid plan to me.' Jonah said, as they snuck along the lawn to the wooden door, putting their ears to it in order to ensure no-one was awake on the other side.

Knowing the coast was clear, Survivor Lara carefully opened the door as Jonah and her older counterpart followed, while Core Lara gently closed the door again, as if they were never there.

Moving down the corridor, the group noticed a diverging staircase that led down somewhere. And wanting to know as much about this version of Lara Croft as they could, moved down the stairs as quickly as they could, without making too much noise.

To their surprise, there were a lot of artifacts on display which especially rang a bell for Core Lara, reminding her a lot of her first ever adventure from 1996 with T-Rex and raptor head busts on the walls, giving it away the most.

So, it seems this Lara has experienced a lot of the same adventures as I have mainly, Core Lara thought to herself. How much so, she could only guess.

Catching a glance at Survivor Lara and Jonah(who couldn't help but stare in amazement at the fact actual dinosaurs still existed on this world), Core Lara moved her head in understanding as she said to them, 'Amazing, isn't it? On my world, dinosaurs seem to be a regular occurrence still, in spite of history books stating otherwise. Just knowing there is plenty of secrets left to find despite thorough documentation, makes life seem so worthwhile, doesn't it?'

Survivor Lara responded in kind, saying, 'You have no idea how incredible it is to see an actual dinosaur in the flesh, literally. I'd give anything for this kind of fantastical adventure back home.'

Jonah turned to look at his best friend and said in a jokey way, 'Really? Himiko, the Divine Source and Mayan gods weren't enough of a thrill for ya? Geez Lara, you're a hard one to please.'

Both Laras responded at the same time albeit unintentionally, 'Well when you're someone like me who craves a sense of adventure, it's hard to get excited at the same old thing...'. They paused and realizing what they'd done, let out a good laugh at their uncanny timing with Jonah joining in on it as tears of joy poured from their eyes.

Gradually calming themselves down, their happy thoughts quickly changed to that of fearful concern as they heard footsteps coming down the steps.

'Who's there?' an old male voice shouted. 'Show yourselves!'

'Yeah. Or you will be shot on sight with no regrets.' a younger black-sounding male voice said in kind.

As the Laras and Jonah hid by hugging the vacant walls that were close to the exit out of the artifact room(Core Lara on the right wall, Survivor Lara and Jonah on the left), they waited for their chance to strike.

Seeing a lantern-styled illumination across the ground, the three adventurers hopped out of cover, armed with their respective weapons of choice.

'Winston?' Survivor Lara said.

'Zip?' Core Lara said.

'Oh boy, so much for keeping a low profile.' Jonah said, as he visibly facepalmed.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

March 17th 2009 2:31am

'So, let me see if I've got this straight,' Zip said to the three unexpected guests who he and Winston had uncovered in the disused artifact room earlier. 'There's this 'demon' disguised as your run of the mill businessman, that's plotting to take over not just this world, but the entire multiverse?!'

'Correct.' Survivor Lara said.

'And the three of you are from different planes of reality, who feel it's in your best interest to stop this guy from doing any more harm to our very existence.'

'You got it man.' Jonah replied.

'It's insane. I want to believe it, but...' Zip managed to get out, before Core Lara interrupted.

'It doesn't matter if you believe us or not,' she said in a calm tone of voice. 'What does is that we need to stop Slizer right here and now, before he causes any more damage to the multiverse. And we need your Lara to help us out on this.'

'If I may Lady Crofts and Master Jonah,' Winston said. 'Our Lady Croft...is still grieving over the loss of a colleague named Alister, as well as her mother and simply isn't ready to face the world again yet. Events like this take time to recover from and I'm sure you can perfectly understand that.'

'Yes,' Survivor Lara said, as she lay on Jonah's left side of the couch they were sitting on. 'I lost my father and my mentor Roth to different but equally delusional cults.'

'As did I with my own mentor Werner Von Croy to a group who called themselves the Cabal,' Core Lara stated, from where she was standing. 'Nearly lost my own life as well in Egypt, were it not for a Shaman who nursed me back to health. As she once said to me, whatever is useful from the past will come to you naturally when needed.'

'Woah, that's deep. Never knew you had so much baggage Older Lara.' Jonah said with great intrigue.

'You never asked,' Core Lara responded. 'But for now, I say that we continue to stay strong and learn what we can with whatever situation comes our way. And that includes trying to at least convince your Lara Winston to help us. Any insight she could provide for us on this world, would really be helpful.'

Winston let out a saddened sigh, but understood the serious necessity of the situation. 'Very well. I will tend to our Lady Croft and get her up. But again, I must warn you. She has been very closed off these past few months and will likely not be able to help you with much.'

'I understand,' Core Lara said. 'Thank you Winston.'

As Winston walked off up the staircase in the direction of Legend Lara's bedroom, Zip stated to the trio, 'Right. And while Winston's tending to our Lara, I think it's a good idea to plan out your attack on Slizer in case things don't work out the way you want them to.'

'I approve Zip,' said Jonah, before turning to the two Laras he had spent the past few days appreciating the company of. 'We'll start putting a plan together while you two deal with your twin and try to coax her into helping us.'

'Will do,' said Survivor Lara to Jonah, as he and Zip headed straight for the tech room. 'Are you sure this is going to work Lara?'

'It has to.' said Core Lara to her younger counterpart. 'Without this Lara, we're pretty much sitting ducks in this realm.'


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

EDIT(29/05/2019): Reworked Survivor Lara's comments towards Legend Lara further, to add the beautifully written variant shared by Deepthroat Ghoul in the reviews section. Appreciate the suggestion man!

It didn't take long for Winston to bring Legend Lara downstairs and meet with the other Laras, dressed in a white dressing gown and red slippers.

After preparing some coffee for the three Laras who were sitting down in the comfy chairs, Winston tended to Zip and Jonah in the tech room as they talked amongst themselves.

Core Lara decided to clear up the awkward conversational silence between the three of them, after Survivor Lara agreed with her earlier on not knowing how to proceed. A master combatant she may have become over the past few years, but talking with other people beyond Jonah was something she was still learning to make use out of again.

'So I know this may be crazy to believe,' Core Lara said. 'But we really need your help to stop a demon named Slizer from destroying the multiverse. Any insight you could share with us on how your world is managed, would be incredibly useful.'

Legend Lara said nothing and continued to sip from her coffee cup. Core and Survivor Lara both looked at each other with genuine concern. Winston had been completely accurate on Legend Lara being very closed off and incapable of interacting with complete strangers.

'Look,' Survivor Lara said as she tried her best to contribute. 'We were told by your friends about what has happened to you over the years... How you lost your mother in a plane crash, had a former colleague become lost to madness, encountered an insane ancient ruler who used your internal guilt to achieve her ultimate goal that you managed to stop, at the price of knowing your mum was beyond saving... But that doesn't mean things won't get better and...'

Legend Lara finally decided to talk, interrupting Survivor Lara as she said rather dismissively to her and Core Lara, 'You're both counterparts of me from different timelines, aren't you? Then surely you both know that things don't always play out the same way. Just because you two came out OK in spite of losing loved ones you had been connected to for a long time, doesn't mean the same result happens for everyone else...'

Legend Lara continued on, struggling to contain the grief she had been holding onto for months, 'I wasted years of my life chasing down there even being a slight possibility of saving my mother from whatever strange dimension she had been accidentally transported to, through rumours, hearsay and even making deals with the worst people imaginable. But I was too naive to see it was all a fool's errand until losing Alister and discovering in Helheim that my mother had been dead for a long time, a mere soulless husk that was beyond saving and needed to be put down. I...'

Legend Lara started to cry, 'I just couldn't look at myself in the mirror anymore, knowing my irrational actions had almost caused the destruction of the entire world. So after sending that 'Doppelganger' to kill Natla, I decided to hang up my holsters and quit tomb raiding and archaeology for good. How would you two feel in my position, knowing everything you've ever done or will do was all a waste of time that could have been spent on more worthwhile things in life.'

Legend Lara continued to cry as Winston walked over with some handkerchiefs and tissues, trying his best to comfort her despite how hopeless it seemed to be.

Survivor Lara knew full well how that felt more than anyone and stood up, walking towards Legend Lara as she said, 'I know what that's like more than you'd think. I've been in many life or death situations and even been the catalyst of a few. But you know what I realized?'

Legend Lara responded with a simple 'What?', as Survivor Lara tried her best to recall what her mental health support counsellor had said, upon returning from Yamatai. 'Someone once told me that the world doesn't stop just because we had one bad day or our lives getting tarnished, over matters out of our control. Its ultimately what you make of it that's the most important.'

Stopping to take a breath, Survivor Lara continued, 'What I'm trying to say older me, is that life still goes on and there's always a reason to keep exploring the many mysteries our various worlds have to offer. Think about Alister, your mother, your father... Do you think they'd want you to throw everything away, on account of things not turning out the way you hoped? Death is the other face of life. How could you blame yourself for that unfortunate series of tragedies? You're a good person and a great friend. Don't deny your good qualities to people just because your past scares you.'

'That's exactly right Young Lady,' Winston responded. 'Death is a part of life Lady Croft. Our time on this plane of existence is short, so we try our best to make the most of it.'

'And while it may be scary to face the world sometimes, it's always worth it to keep pushing yourself forward,' Core Lara stated. 'The memories you have of your friends and family will always be there to remind you of what matters, a priceless treasure that will last a lifetime.'

Zip and Jonah walked into the room as Zip said, 'So why don't we get back to doing what we all do best Lara? Going on death-defying adventures as we stop the latest madman of the week wanting to take over the world?'

Legend Lara stood up slowly as she said to her fellow colleagues, 'You all are right. I don't know what I was thinking, throwing everything away over situations I could have easily learned from.'

Jonah kindly said to Legend Lara, 'Hey, even the best of us need to take a break period from what we love, every now and then. No need to beat yourself up over it. You had every right to grief.'

Legend Lara was about to say something else, until everyone gathered around her for a group hug and just as quickly as she had been to become reclusive from society, she felt more like her old self again as she enjoyed this renewed sense of optimism within her life again.

'So now that we're all feeling better,' Zip said, 'How about we start to properly plan out what we're going to do with Slizer, huh? Me and Jonah managed to discover what building he's hiding his cowardly ass at too!'

'Where?' Core, Legend and Survivor Lara all said in interested unison.

'At the Opxicon building in America,' Jonah said. 'Guy covered up his tracks pretty cleanly, but not enough for Zip here.'

'So when do we head out?' Core Lara said.

'Whenever you're ready.' Zip responded. 'Just need all of you to confirm what us guys managed to put together.'

As Jonah, Zip, Core Lara and Legend Lara headed for the tech room, Survivor Lara's inner thoughts were interrupted by Winston who said to her, 'Young Lady, I see you as more of the silent type than one so keen to go in guns akimbo. Why don't I direct you to our armoury vault, after we've looked over Zip and Jonah's plan for the three of you?'

'I would greatly appreciate that Winston, thank you.' Survivor Lara said. 'Having a silenced pistol is handy, but there's something about bows and arrows which have always felt natural to me.'

Winston smiled at her as the two of them walked over to the tech room to join the others.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

'Can you go over the plan again so we all know how to correctly approach Slizer?' Jonah inquired to Legend Lara.

All three Laras sighed in frustration (this being a typical walk in the park with their respective years of experience in the field), but decided to oblige Jonah's request again.

'Right..., ' Legend Lara began saying, 'We're going to start off by diving out of this plane we are on right now, toward the neighbouring building's roof here.' Pointing toward the section on the Google Map snapshot she'd printed off back at the manor prior to leaving.

'From there, we'll enter by having Lara 3 or L3 for short, firing at the large durable air-con unit with her bow to create a makeshift zipline for us to the other side. L1, you'll enter through one of the vents located on the tenth floor here, by rappelling down and kicking it in to access the security room. Jonah, L3, we'll enter through the roof entrance and have L1 rely info back to us through our headsets till we get to her position, as we all try to ultimately sneak in and defeat Slizer with hopefully not too many causalities. We all clear on what our roles are?' Legend Lara finished.

Everyone nodded and got themselves prepared for the mission, as Legend Lara went to the pilot for info on how long it would take to reach their intended destination.

'If you're wondering how long we've got Lara, don't worry. We'll all be there in twenty minutes!' Greg Wilkins, an old American friend of Legend Lara's from her military training days, yelled out.

'Thanks Greg. It means a lot to have you do this for me and my colleagues!' Legend Lara said in response.

'Ain't no problem at all. After you saved me from those supernatural cobras during our time in Uganda together, it's only fair I return the favour for an old friend.' Greg smiled.

Legend Lara returned the expression his way, before she left the flight deck to get herself prepared for the biggest threat of her life.

20 minutes later...

An alarm sounded off, as the cargo hold door to the plane opened and the gang ensured to give themselves a good runner as they jumped out and began falling, pulling their parachutes at the right time as they entered into the belly of the beast.

Succeeding at getting into the vents, Core Lara crawled along in them till overhearing conversations no doubt from security guards nearby.

'And so I said to Toby, you're crazy about getting into the film industry if creativity is what you're looking for.' one security guard said.

'So what he'd do after that Eric?' the other security guard asked.

'Well Jason, he decided to become a comic artist instead. Pay is pretty decent from what he's told me.'

'Really?' Jason responded. 'Damn, Toby's a lucky guy.'

'Got that right,' Eric calmly replied. 'Say, you planning to come down for the barbeque on...'

The security guard conversation got abruptly cut off as Core Lara kicked the vent cover off its hinges and entered about as subtly as a dog barking. Jason was ready to inform other nearby guards of this sudden intruder over the radio, but Core Lara kicked him and sent him flying into a wall, knocking him out cold. Eric engaged in combat with this mysterious woman, but despite his best efforts, he was far too slow to land any real significant blows on her and quickly joined his partner in the corner.

Ensuring to lock the door, Core Lara put on a headset and said to her allies upstairs, 'OK. I'm in and have full view of many secure parts of the building. Far as I can tell, Slizer and the portal appear to be on the tenth floor. So expect some company on your way down to my current location.'

'Roger that L1. We're starting our descent to you now.' Survivor Lara confirmed.

Core Lara calmed herself down a bit, but the camera showing Slizer's location gave her a bad feeling. It all seemed too easy for them to have gotten as far as they had already. But she knew worrying about potential what if scenarios wouldn't solve anything and resumed focussing on the task at hand.

Meanwhile, Legend Lara, Survivor Lara & Jonah were making their way down the small staircase, about to enter the twelfth floor hallway when Core Lara warned them of a guard nearby on his patrol route and a series of security lasers that activated shoot-to-kill wall turrets, if it detected unfamiliar heat signatures in its beams.

'Bloody hell.' Legend Lara cursed. 'Should have guessed we'd have run into a roadblock at some point. But how are we going to get past this without drawing too much attention?'

'Leave it to me.' Survivor Lara reassured her teammates. 'I've got an idea.'

As the trio entered the room, they took cover behind support columns, narrowly missing getting caught by the security guard who quickly chopped his suspicions to that of an overactive imagination.

But before he knew what was happening, a green gas surrounded him as he quickly fell unconscious, his body serving as an easy way for the two Laras and Jonah to traverse through the security lasers without triggering any alarms, thanks to them being obscured by the guard's surprisingly large gut as Jonah held him up vertically.

'Phew!' Jonah said after they'd gotten through the various security lasers and laid the still knocked out guard on the ground gently. 'Felt like I was about to pass out with how on edge that situation made us.'

'For someone who's never had to sneak into a highly secure establishment before, I think you handled it rather well Jonah.' complimented Legend Lara.

'Yeah, well... Can thank L3 here for having her rub off on me a little.' he replied jokingly.

'Oh stop Jonah,' Survivor Lara said as she blushed a little. 'What happened back there was all you. I just did the easy part.'

'If you're done patting yourselves on the back,' Core Lara sarcastically responded over their headsets, 'I think its best you keep moving, before any more guards start coming down that hallway.'

The three heroes looked at each other with knowing grins, as they set off to face the many trials ahead on route to reuniting with Core Lara.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

After a few close shaves with security systems and quickly tranquillised guards, the trio managed to reach Core Lara (who unlocked the door to the security room she'd recently taken up residence in for them).

From there, Legend Lara walked up to the monitors and began to attempt hacking the Opxicon security systems. The pace she was going at took Core Lara, Survivor Lara and Jonah off-guard.

Managing a quick glance back, Legend Lara smiled at her bewildered allies before turning back to the monitors and resuming where she left off, stating, 'You'd be surprised what one can learn in their downtime, especially with someone like Zip under your employ.'

'I can't even keep track of half the things she's typing', said Jonah. 'Can either of you?'

'Don't look at me,' said Core Lara. 'I'm still learning all the ins and outs of online email back in my world. Never mind hacking computers like a pro.'

'Somehow,' responded Survivor Lara. 'I recall a number of these tricks from my days in university. A lot of them seem pretty old-hat to me.'

'Got it!' said Legend Lara. 'This Slizer has been busy. He's been buying up buildings all over the world, under the guise of improved security and weaponry for anyone with the finances to pay for it. There's something else as well. Apparently he's got an entirely advanced new system exclusively for protecting valuable company assets in a vault of some sort.'

'And that's likely to be where the large portal device is housed?' Core Lara inquired, as she pointed towards a screen. 'From the footage I saw of the room on this screen here, it makes me wonder why Slizer would even bother installing cameras in there if its as secure as your findings say, for everyone but him?'

'True,' Legend Lara replied. 'But speaking from experience, it never hurts to plan every scenario out. Security cameras in incredibly secure areas very much included. And if we're going to have even the slightest chance of entering that room and confronting Slizer personally, we're gonna need to snatch up three keycards and 'persuade' a security guard to provide his identification.'

'A tad overkill, isn't it?' Jonah stated. 'Why not just have the security guard requirement and chuck the keycard concept in a bin?'

'When you're dealing with world-destroying maniacs and tyrants, its best to not think about it and just roll with it Jonah.' Core Lara answered.

'Agreed.' Legend Lara said. 'We're gonna have to split up, if we want to be able to get everything in a timely manner and kill Slizer before the work day starts. L1, you'll go after the red keycard on the eighth floor, while you'll go after the blue keycard on the sixth floor L3. Both of you, take the elevator down the next hallway. Jonah, you and I will take the elevator down the other hallway to the fifth floor, splitting up upon getting there as I'll snatch up the green keycard in a nearby office while you sneak up and attempt to knock out this guard here named Joe Morgan, required for high-level access into Slizer's vault. Everyone know what their roles are?'

The trio nodded towards Legend Lara, as they all split off knowing how much time was of the essence.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Running for the elevator, Jonah and Legend Lara activated the lift and proceeded to get in.

Lost in her thoughts, Legend Lara swore she started hearing a familiar voice.

'You aren't going to succeed at saving the world this time Lara,' an imaginary Natla figment taunted. 'Everything is going to fall apart and it'll be all your fault. Why not just give up now and go back to hide in that secluded place you call a home...'

'Lara!' Jonah said. 'Is everything OK? You blacked out for a bit there.'

'Yes,' Legend Lara responded. 'I'm fine Jonah. Just focussed on the mission.'

'I've seen that kind of blank stare before,' Jonah said. 'When we came back from Yamatai and enlisted in mental therapy sessions, L3 had a similar stare to what you had. From what she told me, it was the PTSD taking hold of her psyche. Figments of her imagination started to torment her every waking moment with traumatic memories of past experiences. But you know what she did?'

'What?' Legend Lara said with curiosity.

'She just stopped, closed her eyes, took deep breathes and focussed on what drives her forward, confronting the figments as she told them they didn't control her life. And over time, they just sort of... faded away entirely.' Jonah confided.

'Thanks for the advice Jonah. But believe me, I'm fine,' Legend Lara confirmed with a calm tone. 'I'll go after the green keycard while you knock out the guard and bring him back here, so we can take him to the vault upstairs.'

'Alright Lara. But be careful,' Jonah sympathetically said. 'Even for someone like you, PTSD is a hell of an illness to fight off. Like it or not, you're still human.'

And as the two went their separate ways, Legend Lara focussed on the path she needed to follow as she moved with care down the hallways.

Managing to reach the office in question, Legend Lara scoured through drawers and cabinets for what she required, the Natla figment constantly taunting her all the while.

'Oh. Now just where is that troublesome card?' the Natla figment taunted in a cocky fashion. 'Maybe its under a pot plant, outside on a barely stable window or perhaps its on a security guard. Shock and horror.'

'Would you shut it!' Legend Lara retorted. 'You aren't real. You're just a figment of my imagination created by my doubts and thoughts of self-loathing.'

'No I'm not,' the Natla figment continued to taunt. 'I'm a spirit come back to haunt you from beyond the grave. Even in death, I won't stop pestering you Lara.'

'Shut up!' Lara stated angrily. 'You are nothing but a pale imitation. Besides, why does it have to be you of all people I've fought over the years that decides to torment me from within my thoughts?'

'I wouldn't have a clue,' the Natla figment said, as she started disappearing. 'Guess I'm all you secretly think of when your thoughts aren't focussed... Hahahaha!'

Finding the green security keycard (and personally relieved that her PTSD was lessening for now), Legend Lara followed the path back where she came and met up with Jonah at the elevator as he held a knocked out guard over his shoulder.

Coming out of the elevator on the tenth floor and heading straight for Slizer's company vault, it wasn't long before they encountered Core and Survivor Lara waiting for them at the vault entrance.

As the four heroes ensured to time their security keycard scans in sync, it wasn't long before the vault door unlocked as they stepped inside, ready to finally face Slizer and stop his maniacal schemes permanently.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

As the Laras and Jonah entered, Legend Lara decided to pull out from her backpack, the Excalibur sword she had picked up from Nepal after barely escaping from Helheim with Amanda and living to tell the tale many months ago.

Whilst the others prepared themselves for the coming battle by drawing their own preferred weapons of choice (Core Lara her dual pistols, Survivor Lara her bow and Jonah a sub-machine gun), they all looked back and forth at each other before Core Lara said, 'Time is running low for us. You all ready?'

The others all acknowledged with a simple head nod as they stepped cautiously into the core of the vault, weapons at the ready as they watched each others' backs until seeing the giant portal device standing in place, unguarded. Or so it seemed, until...

'Well, well, well!' a familiar voice sounded as the four heroes turned around and saw Slizer in his human form, business suit included. 'I didn't think the three of you had the guts or know-how to follow me here. But needless to say, I'm very impressed. You even managed to convince the Lara of this realm to join you in your ultimately fruitless fight against me.'

'We're just full of surprises Slizer,' Core Lara said. 'But don't go believing this will be an immediate win for you. You go all demonic in here and that will be on tape for thousands of your employees to see.'

'Not to mention it'll be immediately sent over the internet if you so much as touch us,' Legend Lara threatened.

'So either way, you lose control over your planned empire Slizer.' said Survivor Lara cockily.

Slizer clenched his fists and got visibly angry for a moment before calmly stating, 'Yes. If I were to fight you in my true form here, I most certainly would have tarnished my plans. But...

'What do you mean by that demon?' Jonah taunted in the most confident voice he could muster, sub-machine gun still firmly pointed at Slizer.

'In the place between dimensions, your intricately woven plan would be rendered mute. No one else will know what happened to the great Lara Croft and her three compatriots. Because after I'm done with the four of you, I'll erase any of the evidence on the cameras personally and none will be able to stop me!' Slizer explained. 'In fact, why don't I show you first-hand what I'm talking about!'

And with that, Slizer said ancient magical incantations as the huge portal device sprang to life and generated energy, as our heroes looked back and forth with visible concern. But before they could take him out, they all vanished and their essence transferred into the portal device itself, leaving the vault newly unoccupied once more.

Forming back into solid matter, the Laras and Jonah landed carefully on their legs, not putting much weight into them to avoid spraining themselves. And as they all looked around their new surroundings (consisting of a large rock in the middle of space with various structures on it and dimensional window glimpses at countless other realities floating in the 'sky' above them), they were interrupted by Slizer.

He stood in the middle of the rock formation and pulled out two Mirrors of Perception, mocking them as they floated upward to a point, 'Now, do you see mortals? You cannot stop me. And with the power granted to me by these Mirrors, there's no way you can possibly stop me! Hahahaha!'

'They never learn, do they?' Legend Lara quipped.

'I think its time he learned things the hard way,' Core Lara stated in kind.

'Whatever happens next, we deal with it as a team.' Jonah confirmed.

'And I'll be there to cover your back Jonah.' Survivor Lara confidently said.

'Working together or not, it makes no difference to me! Time for you all to join those that have come before you as mere specks within the multiverse itself!' Slizer said, as he transformed into his true demonic form while our heroes prepared themselves for the fight of their lives.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Core Lara started shooting immediately at Slizer's eyes, managing to successfully land a successful blow on one of them before he retaliated in rage by immediately lunging towards her, intending to squish her into bloody paste on the ground.

Fortunately, Survivor Lara fired a gas arrow on the ground just before Slizer could reach Core Lara, obscuring his vision whilst giving Core Lara ample opportunity to dodge out of the way as Jonah fired a few blows at Slizer's legs. Slizer screamed in pain, turning in the direction of Jonah only to receive a magical green energy wave to his face, courtesy of Legend Lara's Excalibur sword (which managed to slice his nose off and cause a lot of blood to spill).

This greatly surprised Slizer as no mortal weapon had ever managed to harm him so greatly before. Realizing he would be severely outmatched without a further power boost from the Mirrors, he proceeded to rush back. But not before Legend Lara swung the Excalibur sword once again, the resulting green wave of energy strong enough to slice one of his legs off.

Crying out in pain as he hopped towards the Mirrors of Perception, Slizer was successful at reaching them and used their great power to heal his wounds, restoring back his nose, leg and shot-at eye gradually as if the Laras and Jonah had never harmed him.

'This isn't good!' Survivor Lara shouted from behind cover. 'So long as he can get to the Mirrors, he'll have strength that will outlast each of us a thousandfold!'

'Agreed,' Core Lara said from behind another form of cover. 'We need a new strategy. L2's sword can greatly harm Slizer. So if we can somehow keep him from getting to the Mirrors long enough, we can win this and get home in time for tea!

'Oh man, do you realize how cheesy that sounds L1?' Jonah said.

'Hey, a little bit of levity helps with keeping your mind centred Jonah,' Core Lara said. 'L2, do you have an idea of our overall plan? L2?

Legend Lara's PTSD started acting up again, as she found herself frozen whilst the Natla figment appeared next to her spot she was taking cover behind, it newly mocking her by stating, 'You know how badly this will all blow up in your collective faces if you fail to land the killing strike Lara. The multiverse will be irrevocably destroyed and it will be all your fault! Hahahaha...'

The Natla figment dissipated once again as Legend Lara was knocked from her current from of cover by Survivor Lara, an energy blast from Slizer barely missing them both.

'L2, you need to focus. You're our last hope against Slizer and we can't afford to lose you now!' Survivor Lara explained. 'Remember how daunting it was for us to leave Croft Manor? If you can make a big step like that, killing a monster like Slizer should be a simple walk in the park by comparison.'

'You're right L3.' Legend Lara said with renewed determination. 'I may be terrified out of my mind of what could happen if I somehow fail, but I refuse to go down without a fight.'

'That's the spirit!' Survivor Lara complimented, as she helped Legend Lara to her feet as they prepared to enact their counter attack against Slizer.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Core Lara continued to dodge incoming energy blasts from Slizer until Survivor Lara carefully poked from behind cover, aimed her shot carefully and flung two arrows at Slizer's lower eyes, blinding him as he flew into a blind rage from the pain, lunging at her.

Jonah fired at Slizer's back from behind, drawing his attention immediately away from Survivor Lara as Jonah made a break for it.

'Graah! I will kill you mortals if its the last thing I do!' Slizer screamed.

As Legend Lara was preparing herself to swing the Excalibur sword again, the Natla figment appeared and resumed taunting in front of her view of Slizer.

'You won't do it. You're nothing more than a terrified child who's crying out for her mummy and daddy, hoping that they'll be there to save you from the monsters. So why not just give up and allow yourself to be consumed by the energy flung by that...' The Natla figment didn't get a chance to finish what it intended to say, as a green energy wave was flung and destroyed it.

'You don't control me!' Legend Lara said to herself. 'I control my own path and I'll be damned before I ever listen to you any further. So return to whatever dark parts of my mind spawned you and do not... (starts swinging with the Excalibur sword while she talks to herself still)... trouble... me... again!'

Slizer was about to finish Jonah off with a charged energy blast, before turning to see the Excalibur sword energy waves coming his way unexpectedly. He didn't even get a chance to block the one coming straight for his neck as he closed his still functioning two eyes while his head was finally chopped off and blood started spilling everywhere as Slizer's body collapsed to the left side, Jonah breathing a huge sigh of relief that he had narrowly escaped death's grasp for another day.

'Well done. I knew you could overcome your internal struggles L2.' Jonah said, as he gave her a supportive hand on her shoulder before Legend Lara dropped Excalibur and hugged Jonah, relieved to have finally confronted her demons, both literally and not so literally. Core and Survivor Lara joined them, praising Legend Lara on a job well-done.

'So what do we do now?' Survivor Lara said.

'Guess the only thing to do is to take these Mirrors of Perception and use them to get out of this hellscape.' Core Lara replied.

As our heroes proceeded toward the Mirrors, they came floating down of their own accord and landed in Core and Legend Lara's hands. But just before they could sort out the co-ordinates back to Legend Lara's Croft Manor, Slizer's corpse started to generate energy from it.

'Uh oh. Think its time we got out of here ladies!' Jonah said. 'Something tells me this place is ready to blow at any moment.'

The Laras agreed on Jonah's concerns and activated the Mirrors of Perception as quickly as they could (Jonah holding onto Core Lara's shoulder and Survivor Lara on Legend Lara's). Activating the Mirrors in the nick of time, they managed to catch a glimpse of Slizer's body exploding with overwhelming levels of energy before they suddenly knew no more.


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue

Legend Lara groaned, as she struggled to get up to her feet. 'Woah... Now that is something I'm going to need to get used to.' she said.

It wasn't long before Core Lara, Survivor Lara and Jonah woke up, as they found themselves outside the front door to Croft Manor.

'Ah, so good to be home,' Legend Lara said.

'Amen to that,' Core Lara commented.

And as they walked to the front door, Legend Lara knocking on it, Winston answered it and was relieved to see everyone alive.

'Good grief Lady Croft!' Winston replied. 'There's been a recent report on the news that the Opxicon building has unexpectedly exploded in flames. Fortunately, there don't appear to be too many injured and from what authorities have managed to discover, all the security guards had been reported as alive and accounted for. But I feared the worst for all of you? What happened?

'It's a very long story Winston,' Legend Lara responded. 'But I'm sure we'd all be happy to discuss it over a nice cup of tea.'

The others agreed as Winston invited them back into the manor.

A few days later...

'So I guess this is goodbye then?' Zip said to the three otherworldly strangers he'd grown to appreciate during their time here, as they all gathered to see them off on the manor grounds.

'I'm afraid so,' Core Lara responded back. 'If we all stuck around for much longer, your realm's inhabitants would likely start to get suspicious of two similar-looking women living in the same home as the world renowned Lara Croft.'

'And besides,' Survivor Lara stated. 'This isn't really goodbye. You can always keep in touch through L2's Mirror of Perception, in case another Slizer-level threat risks destroying our very existence again.'

'Very true.' Jonah confirmed.

'Regardless of whatever happens next, thank you all for reminding me of what matters,' Legend Lara conveyed. 'Never thought it would be other versions of myself that would serve as the serious wake-up call I needed. But I realize now its not the past which defines you, but what you do in the present that matters most.'

Everyone smiled as handshakes and comforting hugs were made before Core Lara pulled out her realm's Mirror of Perception, set it to her world's version of Croft Manor as the destination and looked back with a knowing grin as she faded away under the expected bright light of energy generated by the mirror.

And it wasn't long until Survivor Lara and Jonah did the same with their Mirror of Perception as Zip, Winston and Legend Lara waved at them as the two faded away from their realm too.

Legend Lara timeline...

18th August 2010

Legend Lara was performing her expected morning acrobatics in the gym, her muscles feeling like they were on fire as she continued to push herself beyond her usual limits, cooling herself off by diving into the swimming pool from the rock climbing wall above.

As she got herself out and changed into more casual clothing in the dressing room, she received a call from Zip in the tech room over her headset.

'Lara, I've received a call from Fred. It's South America again. Apparently he's found the location of the Mirror of Smoke. You interested?

'Of course Zip,' Legend Lara stated with confidence. 'You know how much I love exploring around that general part of the world!'

'You want to bring Carter Bell in on this action?' Zip inquired. 'Something tells me he'd love to have something more to do besides signing signatures on papers all day.'

'Maybe next time,' Legend Lara said. 'Organize the plane flight as soon as you can Zip please. Winston, I'm going to South America. Prepare the usual packed suitcase arrangements thank you.'

'Very well Lady Croft,' Winston said, as Legend Lara went outside to the centre of the maze, sat down near a statue and stared up at the sunny, cloud-filled sky, thinking of her alternate timeline counterparts and Jonah.

'I hope wherever you all are, that your situation hasn't been worse off since our little adventure over a year ago. The PTSD has greatly diminished in its impact on my life lately. I no longer feel afraid of what lies out there and in fact, look forward to whatever perils the world throws my way. I promise to properly talk with you all again, as soon as I get back.'

And as she departed back for the living room, Winston looked up at the newly-added picture they had taken a year ago, while alternate versions of her employer from other timelines had been present in helping them stop a threat from across time and space, from taking over everything and bringing Legend Lara back from the brink of despair.

He smiled as he admired the picture, with Core Lara crossing her arms seriously whilst trying to not have an awkward look to her facial expression, himself sitting down on a chair in the middle, Zip leaning over his chair with a grin on his face, Jonah crouching down on one knee to his left on the floor, Legend Lara holding out her pistols in an attempt to look intimidating and Survivor Lara doing a peace sign with one of her hands. And with that, he went off to make some tea in the kitchen.

Survivor Lara timeline...

3rd August 2019

During the year that had passed, Survivor Lara had decided to grow her hair out longer and wear more exposing clothing akin to her older counterparts from different timelines, even deciding to invest in a pair of dual pistols as she continued to wield the bow she had been given by the Winston from Legend Lara's timeline.

Jonah had decided to retire and become a local chef in the States, feeling like tomb raiding wasn't exactly the lifestyle he had in mind for the rest of his life. It had pained her for them to have parted ways around six months after they had returned from their interdimensional adventure, but she understood and respected his decision.

As she made perilous jumps from one rocky crevice to the next, Survivor Lara felt incredibly invigorated exploring Cappadocia, eventually reaching the top as she decided to sit down and admire the view, thinking of her older counterparts.

'I know I promised to myself, to contact you before I left for Cappadocia,' she said to herself. 'But I hope you both know how much of an impact you had on my life. And how far I've come since first meeting you both over a year ago. The world is full of endless opportunities to discover and learn more about cultures of our past. And honestly, I can't wait to leave my own mark on it.'

She smiled as she stared out into the distance a little longer, before proceeding into a nearby cave and preparing herself for whatever traps and perils came her way.

Core Lara timeline...

15th May 2006

Core Lara was sitting in her artifact room, reading through an old book on a comfy chair of her aunt's as the fire continued to burn the wood in the fireplace. It never bored her to be in solitude and escape from the world through fiction as she managed a quick glance over at the Mirror of Perception within her meticulously placed collection of artifacts, remembering the events of a year ago when she had encountered alternate versions of herself and had her eyes opened to how vast the multiverse really was.

She looked up at the roof and started talking to herself, 'Not a whole lot has really changed since I met all of you a year ago. But in spite of the many adventures I've had across the world conveniently taking down the latest local threat of the week, I like to think you've all given me a renewed sense of perspective on life too, being more willing to work with others and have them join me in the thrills I selfishly hogged for myself. I can only hope matters are going well for all of you and that maybe one day, we can meet again in the flesh.'

As she was about to get back into her book, the front door's bell rang. She put her book down in annoyance on the small table beside her chair, got up and was in the midst of opening the door to her artifact room when Winston shouted at her, 'I've got it Lady Croft!'

Opening the front door, Winston said, 'Yes? Can I help you?'

It was Kurtis Trent, who was wearing a red shirt, blue pants and brown shoes on his person.

'Yeah, hi Winston,' he said rather awkwardly. 'I was wondering if Lara was home and not off somewhere else investigating another tomb.'

'Well, you are definitely fortunate Master Trent as Lady Croft is actually at home for once.' Winston confirmed.

As Core Lara respectfully bypassed Winston and walked towards Kurtis, she asked what his reason for being here was. It turned out to be in regards to an old Lux Veritatis legend at Castle Kriegler in Germany and he was wondering if she could come along as his archaeological expert on this expedition.

Relishing in the opportunity, she invited Kurtis in to discuss it further as Winston prepared some tea for them to have whilst chatting about their next thrilling adventure.

THE END


End file.
